Chris Albright

Christopher John Albright (born January 14, 1979) is a retired American soccer player and current Technical Director for Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.[1]

Chris Albright
Personal information
Full name Christopher John Albright
Date of birth (1979-01-14) January 14, 1979
Place of birth Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1997–1998 Virginia Cavaliers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 D.C. United 56 (4)
1999MLS Pro-40 (loan) 3 (0)
2002–2007 Los Angeles Galaxy 116 (7)
2008–2009 New England Revolution 27 (0)
2010–2011 New York Red Bulls 26 (0)
2012–2013 Philadelphia Union 10 (0)
National team
1999 United States U20 4 (0)
2000 United States U23 6 (2)
1999–2007 United States 22 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 26, 2013
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of April 4, 2010

Youth and college

Albright attended William Penn Charter School. A forward early in his career, Albright played college soccer at the University of Virginia for two years; he was named an All-American in 1999.

Club career

Considered one of the best attacking prospects in the country, he leveraged foreign interest into getting assigned to D.C. United, despite the club being low on MLS's pecking order for Project-40 players. The league forced a trade with the Miami Fusion for future considerations, which turned out to be Roy Lassiter, but not until both Albright and Lassiter helped DC to the 1999 MLS Cup.

But Albright's club career did not live up to the lofty expectations. He struggled to find the back of the net, scoring just four goals total in his first three years in the league. D.C. dealt him to Los Angeles Galaxy for a draft pick prior to the 2002 season.

Albright drifted further onto the midfield, and then found himself in the back as the Galaxy's starting right defender for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. With Los Angeles Albright became one of the league's top right backs, and was honored as an MLS Best XI selection in 2005. During his time with the Galaxy he helped the club capture two MLS Cup and one U.S. Open Cup title. He appeared in 116 league matches, scoring 7 goals.

On January 18, 2008, Albright was traded to New England Revolution in return for allocation money. During the 2008 season Albright was a fixture for New England at right back appearing in 26 league matches; however during the 2009 season he suffered a season-ending injury that limited him to only one appearance.

Albright was traded to New York Red Bulls on January 14, 2010 in exchange for picks #31 and #48 in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.[2] After beginning the 2010 season on injured reserve Albright regained his form and became the club's starting right back and helped New York capture the regular season Eastern Conference title.[3]

Following the 2011 season, the Red Bulls declined the 2012 option on Albright's contract, making him eligible for the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft.[4] Albright was not selected in the draft and became a free agent.

On February 13, 2012, Albright signed to play for his hometown Philadelphia Union.[5] He retired at the conclusion of the 2013 season[6]

International career

Albright's first attempt at playing defense came with United States national team coach Bruce Arena, who gave him his first cap on September 8, 1999, against Jamaica. Albright scored his lone U.S. goal that day and has accumulated 21 caps as of 2007.

Albright was listed as an alternate for Bruce Arena's 23-man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and made the final squad two days after the initial roster announcement due to the injury of Frankie Hejduk.[7] Albright did not appear in a match in the tournament.

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1September 8, 1999Kingston, Jamaica Jamaica2–22–2Friendly match

Post playing career

In January 2014, Albright was announced as joining the Union's technical staff as assistant technical director.[8] His responsibilities would focus on assisting in player management and movement along with player and coaching decisions.[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of June 29, 2013
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
1999D.C. UnitedMajor League Soccer80110010101
2000253320010295
2001231420000273
2002Los Angeles Galaxy150225100223
2003273302040363
2004241003000271
2005221004000261
2006232000010242
20075000000050
2008New England Revolution260002000280
20091000000010
2010New York Red Bulls180302000230
20118010000090
2012Philadelphia Union8000000080
20132000000020
Total USA 235111771817027719
Career total 235111771817027719

International

As of March 19, 2012
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States
199911
200030
200130
200200
200300
200440
200570
200620
200720
Total221

Honors

D.C. United

New England Revolution

Los Angeles Galaxy

Individual

Technical Director

Philadelphia Union

References

  1. "Technical Staff | Philadelphia Union". philadelphiaunion.com. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  2. "2010 MLS Draft (Pre-Draft Commentary)". Soccer By Ives. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  3. Archived October 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "MLS names players available in Re-Entry Process (UPDATED)". MLSsoccer.com. 2011-12-02. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  5. http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2012/02/union-sign-veteran-defender-albright
  6. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/10/23/veteran-defender-chris-albright-call-it-career-hometown-philadelphia-union
  7. "ESPN Soccernet". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  8. "Philadelphia Union name Chris Albright assistant Technical Director". philadelphiaunion.com. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  9. Major League Soccer [@MLS] (8 November 2020). "SUPPORTERS' SHIELD WINNERS @PhilaUnion win their first trophy in club history! #DOOP" (Tweet) via Twitter.
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